The Four Aces was a contract bridge team which dominated tournament play in the mid-thirties.

History

David Burnstine David Burnstine (May 5 1900 – August 26, 1965) was a leading tournament contract bridge player of the 1930s. He changed his name to David Bruce after he retired from competition in 1939. Burnstine was born in New York City and regularly played ...

(later David Bruce and to become an ACBL Hall of Fame member) was a member of the successful Four Horseman team captained by P. Hal Sims but left in 1932 to establish his own team composed of himself, Richard Frey,

Howard Schenken Howard Schenken (September 28, 1903 – February 20, 1979) was an American bridge player, writer, and long-time syndicated bridge columnist. He was from New York City. He won three Bermuda Bowl titles, and set several North American records. Most r ...

and Charles Lockridge. Known as the Bid-Rite team, they were named for the Bid-Rite Playing Card Co., the first manufacturer of four-colored cards. The team was defeated by the Sims team in the 1932 Vanderbilt and Burnstine made roster changes, replacing Lockridge with

Oswald Jacoby Oswald "Ozzie", "Jake" Jacoby (December 8, 1902 – June 27, 1984) was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time and a key innovator in the game, having helped popularize widely used bi ...

, whom he recruited from Sims, and adding Michael T. Gottlieb. Being a five-man team, they were referred to as the Four Aces and a Joker. Membership varied over the years: Frey left to join

Ely Culbertson Elie Almon Culbertson (July 22, 1891 – December 27, 1955), known as Ely Culbertson, was an American contract bridge entrepreneur and personality dominant during the 1930s. He played a major role in the popularization of the new game and was wide ...

's many bridge enterprises in 1935 and was replaced by Sherman Stearns; Gottlieb retired in 1936 and was replaced by Merwyn Maier; other experts participated occasionally until the team discontinued competing in late 1941. It nevertheless continued as a publication entity until 1945 including a book titled ''The Four Aces System of Contract Bridge''.

Bridge accomplishments

The Four Aces won: *1933 Summer Nationals at Ashbury Park, subsequently to become the Spingold *1934

Spingold The Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Spingold is a knock-out team event that attracts the top contract bridge players in the world. T ...

*1934, 1935 Vanderbilt *1934, 1935 Grand National *1934

Reisinger The Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Reisinger is a board-a-match event. History The event is contested for the Reisinger Trophy ( ...

References

{{WPCBIndex Contract bridge people